New research that has been published by the Eskdalemuir Working Group (EWG) reveals the potential to install more than a gigawatt of onshore wind energy in Scotland in the years ahead – enough to power more than half a million British homes.
Welcoming the study today, RenewableUK chief executive Maria McCaffery said it provided a springboard for the UK’s wind energy industry to take another step forward.
She added: “It creates fresh opportunities to install new projects in a part of the country which enjoys excellent wind resources, without the prospect of automatic objections by the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
The EWG which includes representatives from governments and industry, commissioned the study to look at the safeguarding approach being used by the MoD at the Eskdalemuir Seismic Array in Dumfries and Galloway, which monitors compliance on the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
It confirms that there is scope to allow further wind farm consents nearer the array than previously permitted. A more accurate way of calculating any vibrations from wind turbines in areas near the seismological monitoring station has been devised, and new data has been validated by the MoD.
This will allow the MoD to withdraw objections to some of the wind energy projects proposed within 50km of the array, with a 15km exclusion zone set to be approved by the Scottish government, following consultation.
Scottish energy minister Fergus Ewing said: “The Eskdalemuir Working Group is a fantastic example of industry, government and the MoD working in partnership to resolve a major issue for the deployment of renewables.
“With potentially 1GW of renewable energy now freed to progress through planning, I’m delighted that Scotland can now benefit from further significant economic rewards from harnessing our natural resources, including the hundreds of jobs created and the knock-on benefits to local companies and communities.”